Habitat and Ecology

Habitat and Ecology

The common minke whale occurs in both coastal and offshore waters and exploits a variety of prey species in different areas according to availability. In the Northern Hemisphere some populations migrate to higher latitudes in summer, but minke whales are also found year-round in some areas. With the exception of the Sea of Japan – Yellow Sea – East China Sea population, conception and birth occur in winter. Most animals occur singly, and few in groups of more than two.

In the North Atlantic, studies in the Barents and Norwegian Seas showed that minke whale diet varied greatly between areas and years, being dominated by krill in the northern areas, but by herring or capelin in other areas according to what was most abundant that year, with gadoids being taken when herring and capelin were scarce (Lindstrøm and Haug 2002). In the North Sea the diet consisted almost exclusively of sandeel (data from one year only). Minke whales taken off Iceland in 2003-04 contained mainly sandeel, with some capelin and gadoids (Víkingsson et al. 2006). Minke whales caught off Newfoundland during 1966-72 contained mainly capelin (Mallotus villosus) (Mitchell 1974).

In the Northwest Pacific, Lindstrøm et al. (1998) found that krill Euphausia pacifica dominated the diet in coastal areas and in the Okhotsk Sea, while in the offshore Pacific, Pacific saury Cololabis saira dominated.